A Kitten for Each Pocket
by Not2BForgotten
Summary: Pursued by two different enemies, cut off from the team, Daniel has to push the limits of his endurance, push past the pain of injury, to get himself and those depending on him to the gate alive...Daniel whump/hurt/comfort fun little one shot! No pairings


**A/N: Hey everyone! Got a new story for you! This is a long oneshot, but I may or may not make some sequels after this one. :). Don't know yet. Not sure where this plot came from but when this plot bunny bit, it bit me HARD! I hope you all like it! Let me know!**

~A Kitten for Each Pocket~

Daniel bit his lip and for a moment scrunched his eyes closed as he focused intensely on putting one foot in front of the other. Sweat beaded down his forehead and back, his clothes clinging to his body uncomfortably. He was ready to be home now. His whole body ached. He opened his eyes and focused mostly on the ground in front of him. Treacherous as it was he'd managed to stay on his feet so far. It wasn't easy with a ten year old girl clinging to his back, arms around his neck cutting off his breathing partially, a three year old boy on one hip and an four month old girl on the other. His pack of stuff was altered hastily so he could wear it slung around on his chest. The oldest girl whimpered the let out a faint sob her arms clutching him tighter making him give a quick cough.

"Shh, it's ok sweetie. It's ok," He cooed quietly. He really didn't need her to start loudly bawling again. It wasn't that it annoyed him or wore at his temper, because it didn't, it was that it could bring them some fatal attention if anyone was nearby.

Stealth was their only defense. He tried to take a deep breath slowly. He needed more oxygen. It was so hot and humid that even without the girl unintentionally strangling him it was hard to breathe. He heard something snap loudly off to his left and dropped like a stone to the ground holding still as possible softly hushing the girl against any possible noise. The baby was asleep and the toddler near sleep. The dense vegetation was only an advantage as a hiding spot, otherwise he just wanted it to be gone. It made travel difficult. When he saw four people appear into view from the shoulder up walking forward slow and cautious he shrank, with the children, into the center of a thick thorny bush ignoring as the brambles bit into his skin. The hostiles held, at the ready, a weapon that was something between a gun and a phase pistol. From the wound on the ten year old girl's side he knew that it caused wounds similar to that of a staff blast but far less severe. The men disappeared but still Daniel did not move from their hiding spot for fear they were close by. It was over ten minutes of silence before he risked moving again. He gave out a portion of water for the group depending on him to drink skipping his fearing they would run out before they could get to the gate. He checked Isabelle, the ten year old girl, pleased to see her injury no longer bled.

He switched the two younger in his arms so that he could rest the arm that had held the three year old by holding the infant for a while. No matter what he did, as the hours passed and the terrain turned sharply uphill, his body hurt. He limped heavily and found his head would droop with exhaustion even as he walked. The only thing that kept him going, slow as he moved, was keeping his mind occupied with thoughts of the fate of his team.

**A/N: Did you like it? I went through it and cleaned up the grammar best I could so it shouldn't be TOO bad...I hope....let me know if you liked the story!!!**

Had they made it to the gate as he hadn't?

00000

Jack paced his little cell. He wasn't sure who had captured him. A blow to the back of the head he hadn't seen or heard coming was the last thing he'd remembered. He'd been pursuing Daniel when it'd happened. Where was that pesky archaeologist? Had he made it home? Jack snarled with annoyance and kicked the wall with worry. It was all he could do at the moment. He kept one ear perked for anyone that might enter the room or even pass by it as he recalled the recent ill turn of events.

They'd been at a peaceful, very primitive, village chatting away, making trade agreements, their herbal medicines that had wowed Janet, for food and tools for farming. Bug repellent, an odd request compared to past requests, some fresh breeding stock of swine, sheep, and llamas. They'd been more than happy to comply. The villagers were even going to let them take home some souvenirs. Daniel was going to get copies of their historical documents to study. Of course he had to write out those copies but it had kept him delightedly busy for several days. Teal'c got a neat looking rock. Sam got a special mineral…or was it a rock too? To take home and study. Jack got a whole bunch of happy team members, and a fishing trip with the locals. It had been a nice, blissful even, trip with not a single snag. They were just saying their goodbyes promising to back with the agreed goods by the end of the week when an eruption of explosions and fire reigned down from the sky. The natives scattered like flies screaming in terror. Sg-1 was on alert instantly. Goa'uld. It had to be. Then the ground troops arrived and doubt clouded his mind.

There was no clank of metal or forehead tattoos. The weapons were wrong and the footmen were taking no prisoners. The Goa'uld wanted slaves, they would take prisoners the majority of the time. The battle was intense, a flurry of action that he could barely keep up with. Some of the village warriors tried to fight back but they were easily defeated as the attackers had superior weaponry. Jack got a group of ten frightened men and women, a few children, behind his safety net of cover fire. They all backed away as a group towards the gate. Out of the corner of his eye he saw Daniel, an infant in his arms, trying to hold back the assault.

"Daniel! Get to the gate now! Go Daniel!" Jack had shouted at him. Either he hadn't heard or he was ignoring Jack's order, no surprise there, and actually ran _towards_ the hostiles. O'Neill was panicked and shocked at his move until he saw the archaeologist reach a girl, perhaps ten or eleven years old, as she was shot down, blood erupting from her side. He snatched her up and literally threw her onto his back. Her arms had laced around his neck, legs shakily around his hips and he was backing towards the jungle once again. He'd tried to stick as close, with his group, to Jackson as possible, occasionally laying suppression fire between his friend and the pressing hostiles.

He would never know if they'd realized what he was doing or it was just a wicked turn of fate that through sheer numbers they drove a wedge between them. He lost complete track of Daniel the village gone from sight by now and wild uncontrolled jungle vegetation surrounded him.

A blow to the back of the head. The world flashed white and he knew nothing more until he woke in this cell, his ankle chained, unbreakable, to the far wall. If anything he was _irked._ O'Neill was jerked from his thoughts as the door to his prison burst open loudly. Four guards. _Drat, they don't trust me._ He snapped some snarky retort at the silent men but no satisfying response was given. Instead they just unlocked his ankle, and despite a fierce fight which ended up with one bloody nose for the enemy and a black eye for Jack, his wrists were tied behind his back and a slip knot leash around his neck. He quickly discovered that should he walk to slow he suffocated and if he walked to fast someone behind him would yank him backwards sharply so he choked anyways.

That annoyed him.

He was dragged to a large room that could have been a throne room, dinner room, or a massive bedroom. The way it was decorated Jack couldn't be sure. There was a window that revealed only ink black sky, and stars. _Uh oh. I'm not on planet anymore Toto!_ Jack snickered at his mental joke and got a cuff to the head by cranky guards. _Fine. Be that way._ In a simple large chair that looked to be made of wood sat a woman straight from the Renaissance Jack was sure. A long flowing dress of dark blue color, gold belt that curved around her hips and delved into a 'v' down her front with a long end leading from the apex of the 'v' to about five inches from the hem of her dress. She wore a silver cape that was over her shoulders, strapped with another gold chain, and hung comfortably along her frame ending even with the gold chain from the belt. She held an onyx staff with silver spiraling the shaft, a large ruby capping the staff encircled by perfectly white pearls.

"What is your name stranger?" her voice was smooth as silk.

"Darth Vader, what's yours?" he quipped immediately. She clearly had never seen Star Wars and accepted the answer still sitting in her chair.

"I care not to give you my name. Where doth thou come from?" she continued calmly.

"Planet Xenon" this didn't quite go well.

"I've been there, you are not of their tribe. Do not lie to me." _Fine, be stubborn and left field._

"Alderan," _I love Star Wars._ She stood now a scowl gracing her face and gave a sharp not to one of his guards. Something that felt like an _extremely_ solid staff struck him up the backside of his head stars bursting in his vision.

"I slaughtered that tribe. They are all dead. Lies will only bring pain." _Crud. What other imaginary places has she been to?_

"A black hole then" he snapped angrily. Another sharp nod and the butt of the staff slammed into his temple. Everything went black for a moment and he woke to himself being picked up off the ground and forced back onto his knees.

"You are a fool!" she snarled her calm façade cracking, "Why are you on this planet?"

"To trade" the truth is occasionally effective.

"Where is the scholar you kept with you?" _Daniel? She wants to know about Daniel?_

"In the black hole"

WHAM!

Jack saw stars again, his lip splitting, the metallic taste of blood trickling down his tongue. This was making to be a wonderful day.

"You are stubborn and lacking of intelligence. Perhaps the scholar keeps you as breeding stock for witless soldiers" she sneered walking to stand before him. Jack muttered several rank words under his breath. The woman laughed.

"You do realize the Goa'uld, whom are also attacking this world, will squash you like the pathetic bug you are, right?" he retorted.

"I fear not the Goa'uld, they are arrogant and feeble, so flawed is their kind. I will soon have this planet for my own and their Jaffa, should they be lucky enough to survive, will bring flesh bloodlines to the stock of my own soldiers, even if they lack proper intelligence" she decided almost speaking to herself. Jack rolled his eyes when another soldier walked in hurriedly.

"M'lady, the scholar has been spotted in the jungle by a patrol but they were not able to apprehend him. He travels with three others m'lady" the man reported hurriedly.

"What is his location soldier?" the man scuttled over to a map that was pinned upon the wall. The man pointed to a specific region and Jack frowned. _Bad spot to be Daniel. Very bad spot._ The region was the thickest, nearly unexplored region of jungle that went either up a very steep, high, mountain, or to a canyon, that he would be on top of. Not a place to be running from hostiles with two children, and a third unknown person. Why did he go there? Had he had a choice? Jack's aching head reeled with worry.

"There is no need to waste our own blood taking him down. The Jaffa are blocking the path to the mountain. His only other options are the cliffs or surrender. Drive him towards one or the other. Jaffa if possible for they will battle and slaughter each other." Jack gulped down a fresh wave of worry, and concussion induced nausea, as the order was given.

_Stay sharp Daniel. Stay alive. Stay Safe._

00000

Daniel didn't hear them until it was too late. The was a loud whine and the sound of crackling electricity like the approach of lightning then an riot of pain ripped through his upper thigh. He wasn't prepared for it and screamed in agony unrequited. He fell to his knees suddenly in a careening, head over heals, tumble down the steep hill he'd been struggling to descend. The children in his arms vanished the girl lurching from his back into her own roll not far from him. The hill leveled abruptly and he was left gasping in shock, his body trembling. He could hear the wails of the infant very near him and staggered towards the sound terrified of her having serious injury. He found her quickly with only a few minor scratches and bruises, her emotions like a raging storm as she hollered. The other girl found him crawling on hands and knees with the boy on her back whimpering.

He snatched up the toddler, gave the girl the infant, pulled her with regrettable force fueled by impending danger, grabbing her hand and all but dragged her forward as he ran limping and tripping terribly the pain in his leg as he surged forward making a haze hover in his vision threateningly. Pounding footsteps following too closely behind them. The whiz and crackle of weapon fire followed by a shower of splinters or shredded leaves as their shots missed its target. If he'd been struggling to breathe before, Daniel didn't breathe at all now. He didn't know where he was or where he was going. He had no clue how even kept standing and running his body was so weary and the throbbing in his leg so terrible. All he could think of was the children that were helpless and depending on him. He had to get them to safety. He was terrified the eldest girl would bleed out before he got her to the gate. He didn't even think about the hot sticky mess dripping down his own leg thickly.

The terrain curved upwards. Daniel plummeted towards the densest outcropping of endless vegetation he could see blessing the plants durability that snapped back into place rather then breaking and he hurtled through them his path unseen. It was a single gifting in their favor this day. He darted through the plant life his chin tucked to his chest and abruptly slammed into something solid, cold, and suspiciously stone like.

His head seemed to explode, forehead taking the brunt of the blow and everything went black………

00000

"Majesty, the scholar and his companions have disappeared." the man reporting the new trembled with fear. The air crackled with her fierce rage as she picked some object, a paper weight maybe, and hurled it with a cry of anger. The unknown item struck Jack hard in the stomach making him wheeze for a single breath. His agonized response seemed to lighten the woman's mood. His mood, despite the most recent blow, lifted as well. Daniel, for the moment, had escaped through her fingers. The man and woman were now conferring about locations of both Jaffa, Daniel, and their own forces.

The Jaffa were further from the mountain, their forces on a head on collision for the Goa'uld's warriors except for a few sentries placed along the cliffs and a few other places watching out for Jackson and any other survivors that might have gone unnoticed. Daniel had disappeared into a region that was simply called The Unknown. All that the natives knew of it was that it was jungle they believed impassible for the density of the vegetation and unseen predators. They'd not bothered to map such dense jungle as it was useless to them. They didn't even know how far the jungle went but rather had given their best guess when drawing the map these conquerors had stolen from them. Something glinted brightly from within the ruling woman's cloak making Jack squint for a moment. As she turned her body slightly as she bent to more closely examine the map he saw it to be a small dagger. The military gears began to grind in his mind. A knife. A woman. Arms tied behind his back. Two guards at his side. The odds were stacked against him.

"Go and scout the jungle yourself you incompetent fool!" the woman bellowed angrily snapping Jack's attention from working an escape plan, whipping away from the dagger, to the conversation at hand. The man cowered as he scuttled to a panel at the opposite side of the room as the wall with the map pinned to it. Looking like a man sentenced to death he turned a dial pressed the green, then the yellow button, stepped on a pad and was consumed by a red light and disappeared. _A transporter. Wicked! Beam me up Scotty!_

The plan was set.

00000

Daniel regretted waking. There was a badger in his head clawing its way through his skull towards its freedom. He hoped it would hurry up and escape or lead him to his death and thereby into relief. There was a loud roaring buzz in his ears that hitched to a shrieking whine when he shifted slightly. There was another sound. Disconnected, fragmented he could hear it start and stop. Sometimes when it sounded it was short and ended right as he recognized he was even hearing it. Other times it would sort of linger for a while and fade.

Crying. Someone was crying. The girl. The attack. His flight. The shot to his leg. It all came rushing back to him like an avalanche crushing him. He gasped and jerked to a sitting up position in a panic immediately his stomach began to heave hatefully at the movement. When it finally gave out he was dangerously near blacking out and had to remain frozen stiff in and breathe in and out deeply struggling to pull himself away from the razor edge. Finally, after what felt like an eternity, the nausea faded to a predator lying in wait and the world around him came into focus.

Isabelle was to his right sobbing, almost silently thank goodness, holding the infant, the three year old boy curled up asleep with his head on her thigh. How long was he unconscious? Hours? Days? He couldn't fit the fragments of time back together again. He'd lost a few pieces of the infinite puzzle and couldn't even figure out which ones they were. It felt as if each time he had one almost connected to another it would morph into something else completely and no longer fit. Daniel blinked a few times blearily as he sluggishly rocked to flop sideways somewhere being laying and sitting up. There was a fire burning in his right thigh that made him quaver in shock of it. His gaze, against his will, slipped down to the new wound on the back of his thigh. It was large and still seeped blood though not as it was before he thought.

Right then his vision blurred, his head felt too heavy to hold up and yet he felt light headed enough to float away like a helium balloon. Nausea reared its ugly head making him groan softly and swallow hard successively to keep from heaving again. This was bad. This was _very_ bad. He looked around trying to get the sight of the wound as far from his mind as possible. He couldn't think right. He couldn't pay attention to it anymore. They were in some kind of cave. He couldn't see beyond it for the brush was so thick it made a wall. If he'd been asked to say whether he'd come exploding through it from the other side he would have said he hadn't. It showed no sign of their passage on this side. _Amazing. Oh look! Cave drawings….perhaps these natives' ancestors once lived here. Where's my notebook?_

He stopped his thoughts abruptly. What was he thinking? This wasn't the time for cave drawings and notebooks. Someone was chasing him. The girl was staring at him lip quivering, silent tears streaming down her face breaking his heart. Or at least they would if he could think properly. Where was his pack? He had to bind up his thigh so it would stop bleeding. He dug through the pack, still hanging around his shoulders against his chest, before his brain registered there just weren't anymore bandages. Isabelle had them all to keep the wound in her side from reopening. He blinked confused and stared off for a while after that. He just seemed to shut down at that moment and didn't come back to life, having been neither awake nor unconscious but rather blankly staring, until the ten year old shook him and whispered his name in terror. He shook his head and went through the bag again. Isabelle started sobbing again as she watched him and he couldn't understand why. He pulled off his jacket, it was too hot anyways, and tried to rip it and make bandages. That didn't work. It was too tough. His knife was missing.

The sound of ripping fabric was jarring and he jumped slightly looking up to see the girl ripping the bottom of her skirt until there was a single, long strip of fabric separated and handed it to him and pointed to the damaged thigh. He got the hint. It was a long and difficult task wrapping the cloth around his leg and tying it his hands shook so badly. Once she had to help pulling at the loose ends so that the wrappings tightened agonizingly. It worked though and after a few minutes the blood stain stopped spreading through the thin fabric. Daniel gave the children more water, taking the smallest of sips for himself even though he didn't want it. The cave continued deeper into the mountain. Should he follow its tunnels? Would it be smarter to face the jungle and hostiles of two different peoples? He couldn't think. He just wanted to sleep. Instead he looked through the bag again having forgotten what was in it again.

Sunblock. Toothpaste. Aspirin. A canteen with only a third left of water. Lipstick?

He could practically hear tires screeching to a halt in his mind. Lipstick? Why would there be lipstick? Oh yes! That's right! It had been something Sam had shown the villagers. It had been part of the trade agreement. Makeup and lessons for application. The women, and the men, had gone wild over makeup. He couldn't recall how it even came up in conversation but it had. Daniel had a better use for it at the moment. As hard as it was to think he realized he could use it to mark his path and explore the cave. If it seemed to go on forever without reaching the surface again he could follow the lipstick marks back to the entrance and they'd face the jungle. He took a moment to check that the contents of his pockets were alright, satisfied to find them safe and unharmed.

Now he just had to actually move…

It was a dread he couldn't put into perspective. He wanted to sleep almost more than he wanted to live. But then he looked at the girl holding the infant and the boy sleeping as if his life weren't in danger and knew he had to push it all back and move. So Daniel moved. He struggled to his feet, took the boy, thankfully remaining asleep, then the infant and tried to help the girl stand. Every time her knees buckled and once she nearly passed out. They were in serious trouble. Finally he braced himself against the wall, gripping the children a little too tightly and woke them both, while Isabelle climbed onto his back again then at last passed out. Daniel's knees buckled for a moment before he snapped back up and locked them. His thigh was excruciating. All he could think was endure. He had to endure. He kept the open, fully extended lipstick tube, clenched in his mouth and whenever he made a mark he had to lean forward to make the arrow. It was awkward with the object in his mouth but it mostly worked.

Time existed. It dragged and bumbled and barely moved. Just like him. He had settled to staring at the floor nearly doubled over as he walked to stay standing while carrying the children. Stare, lean, mark. Stare, lean, mark. It was a monotonous repetition that tasked him beyond the boundaries of strength and fortitude he'd ever known. There was no conscious thought. He never saw as the tunnel he followed, thankfully never splitting or branching, angle upwards slightly. He didn't see cave drawings or abandon tools as he passed them. He was oblivious to the stone walls that walled off passages that _did_ lead away from the main path with ancient symbols smeared on the surface. There was only walk, right left, right left, lean, mark a dash, stare, walk. It was all that existed until a large lush green leaf smacked him right in the face, wet with humid tropical rain.

It was such a shock to him that he nearly, very nearly, fell backwards onto the unconscious girl hanging from his back heavily. He blinked rapidly, the only thing he could do in a non-sluggish way, and wondered if he was hallucinating. He could see through a few holes in the vegetation this time. He didn't see anyone beyond the mouth of the cave. Were they really alone? All he could hear over the ringing in his ears was the constant drum of rain against the jungle canopy.

_Onward-ho it is then._

He shuddered against a bolt of pain up his leg. There was a general numbness in the area but it wasn't complete. Pain could still pierce the thin blanket of illusion that the leg was fine. Now was one of those moments and it dropped him to his knees barely able to set the baby aside before the violent heaving began again. Everything blurred together for a long time after that. He was pretty sure he'd passed out or somewhere near it. The sense that a large chunk of time had gone by nagged at his mind. He vaguely had the memory of someone pressing the canteen to his lips and him drinking the cool, heavenly, aqua nectar that had spilled forth. How much had he had? He didn't know and it bothered him horribly. The water was for the children, for those depending on him. He couldn't have any because they needed it. With growing anxiety he dug the object of his troubles and shook it. Hardly a swallow left if the sound was anything to go by. A self-hating resolve overwhelmed him. Never again. He would not have even the _smallest_ of sips, he wouldn't even _look_ at the water from now on. It was for the children and theirs alone.

Never again.

Daniel angrily ran a hand through his hair trying to vent steam as well as get it out of his eyes only to cry out in pain, his vision blur sharply before focusing again, the badger returned with a vengeance, and to see his hand covered in blood. How'd he done that? He struggled to put it together again. The cave entrance. He hadn't known it was there and ran straight into it…..and against the wall. He closed his eyes for a moment with both exhaustion and mentally berating himself. _Perfect Jackson. Just perfect. Running for your life and that of three children and you just run into a stone wall without second thought. Brilliant._

He would have shaken his head at himself but he knew that was all it would take to pass out again. It took him ten long minutes, but once again they pushed forward. The baby was crying. Loudly. He tried to calm it, didn't have the breath to sing to her. Didn't have food. The very thought curdled his stomach regardless that it wasn't for him. He was left praying that no one heard. He pushed forward against the far too numerous plants the bases of trees barely visible between them, and thought of getting home. He had to get home.

He didn't know how much longer he could keep going.

00000

Jack shifted uncomfortably on his knees. It was taking too long. He had his plan set in mind but certain things had to happen. The woman needed to come closer. It would be best if he could get at least one, if not both, guards to go away. That didn't seem to be likely to happen. The woman was still looking over the map making marks of troop location and movement while the guards simply were not going to move without dismissal. He'd been ignored for a while now wondering why he was even here. He hadn't been asked any questions, not that he'd answer properly anyways, for a while now. That was when the man she'd sent in a fit of anger to scour the jungle himself arrived again in a bright flash. He bowed to her trembling again with cowardice in her presence.

"Report" her voice was cold with annoyance.

"The scholar was spotted again but um, disappeared again M'lady," she raised a hand to strike him, "but he's been wounded m'lady! Please, the soldiers say he's been wounded for he leaves blood as a trail!" he squealed ducking away as if her blow had already fallen. Jack shifted with worry now his heart thudding in his chest. Daniel was wounded. He was leaving a trail of blood the man had said. How bad was the wound? Was he able to find somewhere to hide and patch the injury? Was it fatal? Was it a glancing blow? They seemed pretty certain that it was Daniel's blood but still Jack had to wonder. They knew he was traveling with other people, their identities yet unknown, and he couldn't help but feel a small hope that maybe it was a graze to one of them rather than his archaeologist. Anger and frustration boiled, his blood hot, and he couldn't stay quiet any longer.

"What's the matter? Not _competent _enough to catch _one_ out of shape scholar with all your _brilliant_ troops?" he sneered for it was all he could do at the moment. A projectile hurtled at him at an alarming rate striking him in the shoulder. Jack grunted gritting his teeth pushing back the new throb a little concerned the shoulder might be dislocated. He couldn't quite tell yet from all the burning pulsation.

"Or perhaps your head is just too full of hot air to realize he's slipped from your grasp forever" she charged abruptly and slammed a foot hard right between his legs then his stomach and crushing down on his fleshy thigh before he had a chance to even gasp. His eyes crossed and he shivered with pain for a moment. _High heels. Heaven above why did I anger a woman wearing high heels._ He didn't know whether he died and hell spat him back out or not but the urge to jeer at her was suddenly gone as he sat quietly trying best he could now to protect the apex of his legs. She was laughing at him and he just didn't care. It was enough of a struggle to get his eyes to uncross.

_New plan. Sit here and shut up for a while. Please Daniel be ok. Just hang in there a little longer._

00000

There was no one around but them. Daniel was pretty sure of it. He didn't hear anyone near by and certainly didn't see them. But that didn't really comfort him much. He was on a mountain…that had a section drop so steeply it was a cliff, and he had nowhere else to go. He had thought, sluggishly at that, about following the edge until there was somewhere more gentle to push past, but as he'd followed it the drop only got higher and went from super steep to straight drop. He'd followed it in the other direction but that didn't work either. It leveled off at a river that was too wide and fast for him to cross. In his current condition at least. If he weren't injured, struggling to stay awake even when he was walking, he might have tempted the river. Not now. His consideration of floating them down river on a log had been scratched immediately. He had an infant and a three year old that would just be too risky hoping to keep them both balanced above water, there were no fallen logs, and he had nothing to fell one with anyways let alone the strength to do so.

He went through his pack again. He'd lost so many supplies in their flight from danger. It was a hodge-podge mix now. He was out of lipstick, a near empty canteen of water, a goodly length of rope, _thank goodness_, some pins designed for anchoring a line while repelling. That could come in handy. Except he only had one. Where were the rest? There was enough rope to tie the three kids together, to the pin, and allow them to descend a few feet at a time. How would they do that? The pin had to be driven into the cliff. He couldn't leash them to him and he couldn't carry them. He wasn't sure he'd be able to make the climb himself. He stood staring at the cliff just trying to think how to do this. It was a battle just to get his brain to work. He didn't dare sit while he thought. That would be the end of it. He'd never get up, maybe even never wake up again if he sat down. The cliff wasn't terribly high here, a few hundred feet maybe and wasn't a straight drop. It might be enough of a slope that he could hold on and let gravity take some of the work of holding him up, but just barely. At the bottom there was a nice looking jungle valley. It would be more dangerous, they could be easily discovered for the underbrush was far thinner, but there were no extreme hills or drops.

Decision made.

He slipped the girl off his back rousing her to a mostly alert state and explained the plan to her. He was grateful she was in better shape then him for she'd done all the work of tying the other two to her. It was a set up that should she have to she could let go of them both completely and the ropes would hold them safely, even if it caused a few bruises. She'd tried to coax him to lash himself to them as well but that was a point he would not concede. The pin wasn't designed to hold four people, despite the unusually reduced weight they would have compared to the adult it was designed for, and he couldn't risk his falling and taking them all with them. And so, with the pin in hand, fearful children staring at him, he crawled over the edge slowly, getting handholds and footholds quickly, and began his descent. He went until the rope lead was almost taut before he drove the pin deep into the stone and was left shaking with effort while they clambered down. They continued past him until the rope was nearly tight again before he worked and jiggled and pried the pin free again.

This wasn't what it was made for but he made it work. In this way they leap-frogged slowly down the cliff. Twice he nearly lost his grip on the cliff from sheer exhaustion alone. To say his leg was numb was an understatement. By halfway down the cliff he couldn't feel it, couldn't move it, nothing. It was a dead weight to him. He had to balance all his weight on the foothold beneath the other leg. Never did he see the man at the very top staring down aghast, nor did he see as the same man ran to report to his lady commander of their location and status.

All he knew was that about ladder's height from the bottom, just finishing with pounding the pin into the wall, his whole body suddenly went slack and let go of the wall. The last thing he heard was his name being screamed from somewhere above him….and then he hit the ground…..

00000

"Children. He's been traveling with three children and is scaling a cliff….with children?" her majesty repeated in shock, as well as dismay and anger. A man traveling with three children, injured, in this kind of terrain should have been able to be captured _long _ago.

"Yes my lady. The eldest child, _might_ be injured for every time they have been spotted the scholar has carried her on his back. He has been carrying all the children mistress." _Daniel you fool. You're going to kill yourself at that rate._ Jack's thoughts were like a maelstrom. He'd been able to watch their progress by way of the map. It was a great distance, terrible, treacherous terrain and now he finds out the archaeologist has been carrying three children the whole way and is very likely injured. Jack gritted his teeth angrily. That was _his_ archaeologist they were pushing beyond the limit and that was a right he reserved for himself _alone._ No one pushed Daniel but him!

Everyone in the room, except the woman, jumped when she completely silently, pressed on one of the pearls on her staff, which made a large knife burst from the butt of her staff, and slammed it wrathfully into the man's chest as he finished his report. He screamed and fell back writhing in death throes until he at last lay lifeless. She snapped her fingers then in eerie control and several servants entered the room, dragging away the body, while another came with a bucket of water and began to scrub away the blood. Jack had enough. He leapt up from where he'd been kneeling, the guards having relaxed were too surprised to stop him, and slammed a shoulder against her majesty. He rolled his body his hands plunged deep into her cape latching onto the hidden knife.

Within the matter of seconds his hands were free and he was a threat again. She struck out at him with her staff but, despite his numerous aches, O'Neill slipped away from each blow unscathed. They danced around each other for a moment, each landing a minor blow or two, when he got hold of the staff and ripped it from her grasp, throwing it across the room. It struck the ground with a loud clatter the ruby atop it cracking. The mistress screamed as if in agony dropping to her knees clutching her chest the moment the gemstone cracked and gasped for air as if she'd been struck a fatal blow. The on-coming guards preparing to join the battle changed course sharply rushing to their commander. Jack wheeled around bolting to the platform hitting the green and yellow buttons just as he'd seen the other man do and stood on the circle pad. The woman rushed forward staggering even as she ran with a scream and jerked the dial all the way to the right on the panel. Jack had only enough time to frown in confusion before he was consumed by a red light.

The next thing he was aware of was striking earth. Dirt was showering down on him and he was in a crater, much like an asteroid. He fumbled out of the hole suddenly surrounded by SG teams right by the gate. Everything was reeling around him as they rushed too him looking shocked by his appearance. It felt like a shock to him too. His brain put the pieces together quickly even and as his vision blacked out, his mind quickly followed him mumbled.

"I do believe that woman just tried to kill me"

00000

Daniel was surprised when he woke up. He vaguely remembered falling, once he'd forced his mind to actually function…at least partially. He didn't open his eyes for a long time. It just took too much strength. Instead he took a mental tally of his physical self. He could feel his leg again. It was like a roaring fire that made the muscles twitch spasmodically. He tried not to think about it but he'd rather not be able to feel it. There was a throbbing pain in his back that he knew once he actually moved would be a torrent of pain, probably unbearable if the dull throbbing he felt now was anything to judge by. His head was its usual heavy, yet lightheaded, self the badger seemingly at rest for the moment. His eyes ached. He couldn't feel his left arm….that was new.

The effort it took to open his eyes was phenomenal. He wasn't sure how he kept them opened or turned his head, the badger awaking with a vengeance so that his vision blurred for a good five minutes to the extent he couldn't see. Then his vision cleared.

Daniel _screamed._

There at his elbow on his left arm was a giant, red and black, hairy spider. It must have been the size of a dinner plate, two fangs buried deep into his arm, dribbles of blood oozing from each of the two puncture wounds, its wiry legs, thick as his wrist, gripping his arm tightly to hold it still while it sucked blood ravenously. He couldn't move. He couldn't move his _arm_ The rest of him scrabbled uselessly in overwhelming panic afraid to swing an arm at it, terrified to let it remain and adamant that it not remain for the preservation of his own life. His whole arm was white as a ghost from the lack of blood. His other arm flailed around trying to find a rock or a branch. Something to knock it away. Everything was spinning around him. His vision was fading in and out of focus again. The badger brought friends and an elephant was crushing his lower back.

What Daniel didn't see was the three year old boy breaking free from Isabelle's grasp, whom was pressed in terror against the cliff she's just safely repelled, clutching the infant to her chest. She shouted the boy's name telling him to stop and come back, Daniel didn't hear, the boy didn't listen. He shouted something that was lost in the intense roar in Daniel's head and with all his strength _kicked_ the spider. It flew several feet before landing. It shrieked loudly and tried to charge for its prey again but the child picked up anything he could lift hurling it at the arachnid. It wasn't until a quite large rock struck it that the spider, with a final angry shriek, retreated back into the brush.

Daniel gave a long raspy moan curling around the bitten arm with his whole body. Some numbing agent the creature had used was now gone and it felt like his arm was being ripped from its socket. Everything was burning, the sensation of flesh shredding from anything of the arm below the elbow brought tears to the eyes while the elbow itself felt as it had been crushed. His stomach heaved and, barely able to get to his knees, Daniel was violently vomiting from panic and pain. The little boy circled him guarding for more wicked spiders until at last the man gave out. Daniel sat on his knees staring exhaustedly towards the girl holding the infant, not yet aware of the boy orbiting him. This time as he stood, trembling, he pitched side to side as he walked drunkenly. He tried to get the girl to stand and walk on her own afraid he couldn't lift her but between her injury and the energy spent going down the cliff wall she just couldn't keep her legs under her.

Movement was slow. Everything blurry around him. He kept his spider bitten arm curled tenderly around his stomach, the girl on his back holding the infant, and he lead the boy by the hand. The boy without realizing was helping to keep him upright. He had no coherent thought beyond putting one foot in front of the other. Left right left right left right left. It was an eternal mantra. It kept him going, made him focus as well as he could. He didn't even look ahead anymore for his head was too heave and had dropped lifelessly against his chest. Twice he found himself being pulled back on course by the boy, who now seemed to recognize his surroundings. It was familiar sound similar to water rushing powerfully over rocks that came with the opening of the Stargate that Daniel became alert once more.

Had he actually heard it? Were they actually that close now? Could he actually have managed to make it home? He looked down sluggishly at the child standing, now pressed against his side, wide eyed staring towards the sound. He _had_ heard right. The boy had never seen or heard the gate open before. Their people didn't know about or use it until SG-1 had arrived. The very thought of going home gave Daniel a rush of clear-headedness, enough so that he could stumble forward at a almost steady clip. He couldn't stop himself and he lurched to one side then the next as everything spun around him. He didn't even care so long as he was still moving forward, moving towards home. Abruptly he broke through the barrier of the jungle into a clearing. The sunlight was intense and merciless. Tears sprang into his eyes even as he slammed them shut crying out in agony and dropped to his knees. He could hear a cacophony of weapons fire nearby and had seen the gate a hundred yards or less from their current position.

Home. He was almost home.

A shot from the nearby battle strayed and struck a tree showering splinters. That got Daniel moving again. He couldn't tell how he made it to his feet again but he did. When he squinted around he could see that the combatants weren't moving towards the gate but still a few shots could stray their way. They seemed to go unnoticed; thank the heavens. He felt his strength draining from him like water from an upended glass now. He thought he was dead when he collapsed against the DHD. He had to blink rapidly, struggling to clear his vision, before he could see the symbols well enough to dial home. His GDO was badly cracked. It still chirruped as he pressed the proper numerals, though he could barely make them out, he just had to hope. The MALP was still at its spot by the gate, the camera shattered by an errant shot from battle, and there was this odd narrow crater about four feet from the steps up to the gate. He could hear someone speaking from the microphone still intact on the MALP, he couldn't make out or the owner of the voice but through the cadence of the sound he knew they were confirming the iris open.

Daniel walked around the DHD and fell. He caught himself with his good arm, the bitten one still curled around his waist. The little boy was pulling at him sensing the urgency to get to the gate. Jackson clambered to his feet once more and walked almost to the stone steps when his legs buckled once more. He gave a tearless sob of frustration and exhaustion. The boy was pulling at him again. Daniel pushed him away and after much waving managed to get the child to go through the event horizon. His head hung heavily as he wavered on the brink. He just wanted to sleep. He didn't think he could go any farther. He could tell from the dead weight on his back that the girl had already given into the pull that called himself so strongly now. He crawled forward up the first few steps ignoring as sharp rocks bit into his palms and was finally able to get to his feet stumbling through the gate.

For a single instant the sensation of rushing took him and then the feeling of a sudden stop.

Jack O'Neill was on the ramp the moment the gate had safely opened. It was Daniel. He knew it was Daniel. The moment he'd heard the alarm of an unscheduled off world activation he'd know it would be his archaeologist and had fled the infirmary, Janet and her cronies chasing after him angrily. First a toddler boy had come through. Seeing all the army men he'd gotten a mischievous grin and took off darting out of the way as several grabbed at him quickly escaping the gate room, the chase on. It was a long silence after that as a few soldiers broke off to catch the errant child. Jack would spare a grin of amusement later. It was taking too long. The archaeologist should have been through already.

Finally the gate rippled and Daniel staggered onto the ramp an adolescent girl lying on his back unconscious with an infant tucked into her arm partially between her and Daniel. The iris grated closed and the remaining children were taken away in a hurry. Daniel stumbled forward a few more step seemingly unaware his burden had been taken or of anything around him before his legs crumpled beneath him. Jack surged forward and caught him, the last of SG-1 to return, in a tight grip lowering them both to the ramp, his back to everyone else in the room. It was at this moment that he noticed Daniel's pockets bulged, and moved. Figuring that his friend wouldn't put a snake or a bug of some kind in his pockets he reached in and pulled out the contents of both pockets, grinned, chuckled, and transferred both to his own, far larger and looser, jacket pockets.

"Ja-Jack?" it was a faint raspy murmur.

Jack smiled down at his semi-conscious, and fading, friend. "Hey Dannyboy, made it home in time for dinner" he chimed merrily.

"Kay…." Daniel's eyes slipped closed and his head dipped forward. He looked positively terrible. His lips were puckered, cracked, and bleeding, dark circles under his eyes, a massive bump that was seeping blood, his whole side of his face covered already and some down his neck.

"Doc!" Jack shouted his heart pounding with worry, "Stay awake Daniel, c'mon now, wake up buddy" he prodded the fading archaeologist pleased to see him rouse once more however weakly. He was breathing in far too rapid shallow puffs.

"Daniel sweetie, I need you to stay awake a little longer," Janet insisted softly as she knelt by them both her hand leaping from forehead to cheek to neck rapidly then went and peeled one, then the other, eye open flashing on her pen light. Daniel whimpered and feebly tried to escape it. His breathing hitched then began again even faster.

"Wha?" his eyes drooped to mere slits.

"Ok, definite concussion, severe dehydration, probable malnutrition…Daniel what happened to your arm?" Janet asked one hand holding the wrist, the other the elbow, delicately and turned it to better exposed the spider bite. It was swollen misshaping his whole arm the area nearest to the punctures beginning to turn black and a brown discharge oozing from it slowly, and his finger tips beginning to go black as well. O'Neill felt Daniel tense sharply and heard a pained gasp in response to Janet's tender grip on his arm.

"Sp-spider…get…get the sp-spiders…off me…get them….get them off" he mumbled hoarsely beginning to writhe against the Colonel's chest is other hand waving at the air right above the puncture wounds. Jack grabbed the hand and pulled it away before he could accidentally hit the wound. Janet's fingers flutter across Jackson's forehead, cheek, and neck once more.

"Heat stroke, he's hallucinating, and this leg wound is infected,let's get him to the infirmary," Janet ordered sharply throwing the cloth strip aside having pulled it from the leg. Daniel startled slightly from the sharpness in her tone then settled again, deeply asleep by the time they got him onto the stretcher. Janet did her best to wake him again but he simply would not submit and remained steadfastly in sleep. It wasn't until they were climbing flights in the elevator, Daniel momentarily stabilized, that Janet turned to Jack.

"Why did you laugh?" she asked curiously noting how the colonel sagged against the wall of the elevator heavily. He would dearly regret his escape attempt from her supervision later.

"What?" he blinked eyes slightly glazed from concussion and pain from a broken wrist.

"On the ramp, when Daniel collapsed, you pulled something out of his pocket and laughed, why?" she made a mental note to give him more medication for the pain he would deny he was feeling.

"Oh, I was just thinking about our Daniel here. We were able to guess the track he crossed to get to the gate, from talking to the villagers and the UAV readings, was a goodly twenty five miles of the worst jungle I've ever seen, and mind you I've seen some pretty wicked jungle, climbed part of a mountain, and even scaled a cliff." he paused for a moment.

"Yes?" she urged incredibly curious.

"Well, he did that all in a hardly full day, in his condition, carrying a ten year old girl, an infant, and that three year old, Jack explain turning so Janet could see the two tiny puffs of fur sleeping heavily as Daniel tucked into the crook of his elbow….

"And a kitten for each pocket."


End file.
